We have performed the Fourier decomposition analysis of 11-yr V-band light curves of a carefully selected sample of 100 RR Lyrae variables, detected in the central regions of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), with the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment, phases II and III. The sample consisted of 84 fundamental mode pulsators (RRab stars) and 16 first-overtone pulsators (RRc stars). The Fourier decomposition parameters were used to derive metal abundances and distance moduli for these RR Lyrae variables.
We present three color, BVI maps of the Small Magellanic Cloud. The maps contain precise photometric and astrometric data for about 2.2million stars from the central regions of the SMC bar covering ~2.4 square degrees on the sky. Mean brightness of stars is derived from observations collected in the course of the OGLE-II microlensing search from about 130, 30 and 15 measurements in the I, V and B-bands, respectively. Accuracy of the zero points of photometry is about 0.01mag, and astrometry 0.15arcsec (with possible systematic error up to 0.7arcsec). Color magnitude diagrams of observed fields are also presented. The maps of the SMC are the first from the series of similar maps covering other OGLE fields: LMC, Galactic bulge and Galactic disk. The data are very well suited for many projects, particularly for the SMC which has been neglected photometrically for years.
We present the catalog of clusters found in the area of ~2.4 square degrees in the central region of the Small Magellanic Cloud. The catalog contains data for 238 clusters, 72 of them are new objects. For each cluster equatorial coordinates, radii, approximate number of members, cross-identification, finding chart and color magnitude diagrams: V-(B-V) and V-(V-I) are provided.
The data of 8852 and 2927 variable stars detected by the OGLE survey in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are presented. They are cross-identified with the SIRIUS JHK survey data, and their infrared properties are discussed. Variable red giants are well separated on the period-(J-K) plane, suggesting that it could be a good tool to distinguish their pulsation mode and type.
Photometry is given for six data sets of SMC photometry, all in the V and I bands. Field names in the file summary below are the names used in the STScI archive for the WFPC2 observations. WFPC2 observations of NGC 121 and the SMC fields reach limiting magnitudes of V=26 and I=25.5; ground-based observations cover a square region of 14.5 arcmin on a side and reach V=25.5 and I=24.5.
We construct a catalogue of the optically bright post-AGB stars in the LMC. The sample forms an ideal testbed for stellar evolution theory predictions of the final phase of low- and intermediate-mass stars, because the distance and hence luminosity and also the current and initial mass of these objects is well constrained.
We present a new optical polarimetric catalog for the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). It contains a total of 7207 stars, located in the northeast (NE) and Wing sections of the SMC and part of the Magellanic Bridge. This new catalog is a significant improvement compared to previous polarimetric catalogs for the SMC. We used it to study the sky-projected interstellar magnetic field structure of the SMC. Three trends were observed for the ordered magnetic field direction at position angles (PAs) of (65{deg}+/-10{deg}), (115{deg}+/-10{deg}), and (150{deg}+/-10{deg}). Our results suggest the existence of an ordered magnetic field aligned with the Magellanic Bridge direction and SMC's Bar in the NE region, which have PAs roughly at 115.4{deg} and 45{deg}, respectively. However, the overall magnetic field structure is fairly complex. The trends at 115{deg} and 150{deg} may be correlated with the SMC's bimodal structure, observed in Cepheids' distances and HI velocities. We derived a value of B_sky_=(0.497+/-0.079){mu}G for the ordered sky-projected magnetic field, and {delta}B=(1.465+/-0.069){mu}G for the turbulent magnetic field. This estimate of B_sky_ is significantly larger (by a factor of ~10) than the line of sight field derived from Faraday rotation observations, suggesting that most of the ordered field component is on the plane of the sky. A turbulent magnetic field stronger than the ordered field agrees with observed estimates for other irregular and spiral galaxies. For the SMC the B_sky_/{delta}B ratio is closer to what is observed for our Galaxy than other irregular dwarf galaxies.
Orbital nature of 81 ellipsoidal red giant binaries
Short Name:
J/ApJ/835/209
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
In this paper, we collect a sample of 81 ellipsoidal red giant binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and we study their orbital natures individually and statistically. The sample contains 59 systems with circular orbits and 22 systems with eccentric orbits. We derive orbital solutions using the 2010 version of the Wilson-Devinney code (Wilson & Devinney 1971ApJ...166..605W ; Wilson 1979ApJ...234.1054W, 1990ApJ...356..613W ; Wilson+ 2009, J/ApJ/702/403). The sample is selection-bias corrected, and the orbital parameter distributions are compared to model predictions for the LMC and to observations in the solar vicinity. The masses of the red giant primaries are found to range from about 0.6 to 9M_{sun}_ with a peak at around 1.5M_{sun}_, in agreement with studies of the star formation history of the LMC, which find a burst of star formation beginning around 4 Gyr ago. The observed distribution of mass ratios q=m_2_/m_1_ is more consistent with the flat q distribution derived for the solar vicinity by Raghavan+ (2010, J/ApJS/190/1) than it is with the solar vicinity q distribution derived by Duquennoy & Mayor (1991A&A...248..485D). There is no evidence for an excess number of systems with equal mass components. We find that about 20% of the ellipsoidal binaries have eccentric orbits, twice the fraction estimated by Soszynski+ (2004, J/AcA/54/347). Our eccentricity evolution test shows that the existence of eccentric ellipsoidal red giant binaries on the upper parts of the red giant branch (RGB) can only be explained if tidal circularization rates are ~1/100 the rates given by the usual theory of tidal dissipation in convective stars.
The 30 Doradus (30 Dor) region of the Large Magellanic Cloud, also known as the Tarantula Nebula, is the nearest starburst region. It contains the richest population of massive stars in the Local Group and it is thus the best possible laboratory to investigate open questions in the formation and evolution of massive stars. Using ground based multi-object optical spectroscopy obtained in the framework of the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS), we aim to establish the (projected) rotational velocity distribution for a sample of 216 presumably single O-type stars in 30 Dor. The size of the sample is large enough to obtain statistically significant information and to search for variations among sub-populations - in terms of spectral type, luminosity class, and spatial location - in the field of view. We measured projected rotational velocities, Vrot, by means of a Fourier transform method and a profile fitting method applied on a set of isolated spectral lines. We also used an iterative deconvolution procedure to infer the probability density, P(Veq), of the equatorial rotational velocity, Veq. The distribution of Vrot shows a two-component structure: a peak around 80km/s and a high-velocity tail extending up to ~600km/s. This structure is also present in the inferred distribution P(Veq) with around 80% of the sample having 0<Veq<=300km/s and the other 20% distributed in the high-velocity region. The presence of the low-velocity peak is consistent with that found in other studies for late O- and early B-type stars. Most of the stars in our sample rotate with a rate less than 20% of their break-up velocity. For the bulk of the sample, mass-loss in a stellar wind and/or envelope expansion is not efficient enough to significantly spin down these stars within the first few Myr of evolution. If massive-star formation results in stars rotating at birth with a large fraction of their break-up velocities, an alternative braking mechanism, possibly magnetic fields, is thus required to explain the present day rotational properties of the O-type stars in 30 Dor. The presence of a sizeable population of fast rotators is compatible with recent population synthesis computations that investigate the influence of binary evolution on the rotation rate of massive stars. Despite the fact that we have excluded stars that show significant radial velocity variations, our sample may have remained contaminated by post-interaction binary products. The fact that the high-velocity tail may be preferentially (and perhaps even exclusively), populated by post-binary interaction products, has important implications for the evolutionary origin of systems that produce gamma-ray bursts.
As a result of a careful selection of eclipsing binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud using the OGLE-II photometric database, we present a list of 98 systems that are suitable targets for spectroscopic observations that would lead to the accurate determination of the distance to the LMC. For these systems we derive preliminary parameters combining the OGLE-II data with the photometry of MACHO and EROS surveys. In the selected sample, 58 stars have eccentric orbits. Among these stars we found fourteen systems showing apsidal motion. The data do not cover the whole apsidal motion cycle, but follow-up observations will allow detailed studies of these interesting objects.
